Second term for Gadkari? RSS may do a rethink

In the wake of fresh allegations against a firm formerly held by Nitin Gadkari, will the RSS and BJP be forced to do a rethink on the party chief’s second term from next year?

While speculations vary from ‘yes’ to ‘no’, senior BJP leaders themselves see no immediate change till the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are over, and Gadkari’s first term ends on January 17.

Also, will Gadkari himself opt out, considering that he is deeply “hurt” over the allegations surfacing after the Surajkund conclave of BJP endorsed changes in its statute to allow a second term for all elected office-bearers? No party official can rule that out either, but Gadkari will abide by what the RSS brass decide.

However, with the fresh “wave” of allegations, many among Gadkari’s detractors in the party hope that the Sangh does not remain “impervious” to the current crisis.

In such an instance, the role of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will become crucial for internal changes after the state polls get over in December.

As of now, the word from Nagpur is that the RSS is not ready yet to dump Gadkari, whom it had chosen in 2010. In fact, Gadkari will be the chief guest at an event where Bhagwat is set to deliver his annual Vijayadashmi address at Nagpur’s Reshimbagh ground on Wednesday.

A Sangh source said the “revelations” may actually harden the RSS's stand to stick to Gadkari.

It may be recalled that after IAC activist Arvind Kejriwal trained his guns on the BJP chief, opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had defended him before the media on October 17.